


Where to go, when to stop

by sundroplets



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Angst, Fluristelle Month 2017, Gen, M/M, Pre-Game Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 05:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11752998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sundroplets/pseuds/sundroplets
Summary: The hopes of childhood don’t always pan out the way you want them to. In which Yuri has a crisis of faith and Flynn tries not to fly off the handle. (Pre-canon fic; Day 3 of Fluristelle Month: Separation)





	Where to go, when to stop

**Author's Note:**

> AKA the pre-series divorce fic that the First Strike failed to be. Pre-canon speculation on what made Yuri leave the knights and how Flynn didn’t lose his temper. Dedicated to Mei, whose salt over FS is matched by only mine. This is very late for Day 3. Oops.
> 
> X-posted to [Dreamwidth](http://starpieces.dreamwidth.org/972.html#cutid1)|[Accompanying art](http://skyengines.tumblr.com/post/163980092668/title-dreams-are-just-fantasies-summary-and)

The castle was always alive with noise. The kitchens were always buzzing with people going in and out. Servants always going back and forth on errands. Knights - new recruits and those of the old guard alike - patrolling hallways, cleaning the stables or training in the yard.

On a good day, Flynn would be among them, from one group to another, honing his skills as a knight-to-be or making cheerful conversation with the maids who always seemed to think he knew more about which flowers would suit which tablecloth better than they did. Other times, he would be with his fellow knights, talking about their day, learning a thing or two about them.

Today was not one of those days.

With brisk strides, Flynn heads to his shared dorm room, a thousand thoughts flying around his head. He spares a strained smile and nod for familiar faces but doesn’t stop to make conversation.

He opens the door and shuts it without so much as a ‘I’m back’ and sighs.

“Yuri.”

Flynn wasn’t sure what exactly Yuri had been doing all day in their room but judging by the mess of clothes scattered across the floor, the puddle of water that was forming under Yuri’s dripping wet hair and Yuri’s moody glare reflected through the window, he might have assumed it was a typical Yuri-sulk.

He might have, if he didn’t know better. So when Yuri doesn’t even turn in acknowledgement, he holds back a sigh and goes about picking up Yuri’s mess, making a mental note to pick up a mop or grab a wet rag later to clean up the muddy footprints.

Repede perks up when he sees Flynn and leans forward for pets (pets Flynn was happy to dispense with, even in the middle of a cleaning spree) but otherwise seems more concerned with toasting himself in the warm spot on Yuri’s bed.

With quick and speedy efficiency that came from years of cleaning up after Yuri, Flynn has all the clothes sorted and folded in neat piles on Yuri’s bed. Now Yuri had no choice but to move them himself, if he wanted a chance to sleep comfortably.

“So….” Flynn says, breaking his silence at last as he finishes folding the last shirt. Yuri finally shifts, his scowl deepening.

“If you came here to just lecture me again, you can save it—“

“I’m not here to lecture you—“ Flynn protests. Well, he wasn’t going to lecture Yuri _originally_ but now it seemed like Yuri was spoiling for a fight and Flynn was tempted to give into one.

“Yeah? What’s with that face then—“

“Because you’re being an _ass_ \--“

“Just because I don’t want to hear your nagging—“

Flynn presses his forehead into his hand and resists the sudden uncontrollable urge to tackle Yuri out the window.

As much as he was sure Yuri would survive the fall with his hard head, there was no telling if Yuri would drag him down with him just to be petty.

“Stop it already. I’m not here to pick a fight, Yuri.” He could point out that as it was _their_ room, he could come and go as he pleased. As Yuri tended to do. But the last thing he wanted to do was be dragged along in an argument Yuri was starting to distract him from the main issue at hand.

“I know about your fight with Captain Cumore, Yuri.”

And just like that, Yuri’s expression goes even more shuttered. The mutinous expression on Yuri’s face deepens and Flynn tries not to sigh.

“Look—Cumore was definitely asking for it. We know that. The other recruits know that. Hell, half the captains know that.”

“Then what’s with that look on your face?” Yuri snaps, turning his glare away from the wall to stare Flynn down instead, bristling visibly. Flynn glares back, unflinching.

“But if we’re going to get anywhere here—if we’re going to make the changes we need to make--we can’t just go around breaking the noses of every noble or knight that pisses us off, no matter how much they might deserve it. We’ve only been in the knights for three months—we can’t afford to be making enemies of the other captains so early!“

“Who cares if he’s a captain?! You saw what he did yesterday. You were there! You got punished for doing the right thing! If you hadn’t pushed that kid out of the way in time, he would have run her right over with his carriage and no one would have done anything to stop him —“

“I _know_ that!” Flynn shouts back in turn, feeling his temper flare “But do you think punching him is going to do anything? It doesn’t take more than a First Aid spell to heal up his nose and then what? What did you accomplish? We were suppose to play it smart! Instead, you’re going around telling captains you’ll get them in their sleep! We were suppose to get through training, climb the ranks and wait it out and—“

“Screw waiting! I’m sick of waiting! I’m sick of training for no goddamn reason—“

“We have every reason in the world to be here--we’re going to change the knights from the inside--”

“Don’t give me that crap. Change it from the inside? With people like Cumore trying to get you killed with little ‘accidents’ while the other captains pretend it’s all a joke?!”

“Cumore doesn’t matter. He’’s a stepping stone. We’ve planned this for at least seven years. You knew it wasn’t going to be easy-“

“It wasn’t my dream! This--all of this--was yours.You planned this. You decided this. I followed along because it sounded interesting. But not anymore. I’m finished. I’m quitting. I’ve already sent my resignation letter to Alexei”

“You--what?”

Flynn’s words die in his throat and he goes very very still. Yuri looks away, scrubbing his face with the palm of his hand and then grabs his empty rucksack from his cupboard, throwing in his clothes haphazardly, making a mess of the piles Flynn had made.

“Yuri,” Flynn says, swallowing around the lump that seemed stuck in his throat. “You don’t mean that. It’s only been three months. Just stop--think--”

“No.” Whatever Yuri saw on Flynn’s face, it was enough to make Yuri drop his scowl and offer a half hearted grin instead. “Geez, Flynn. Don’t look at me like that. You know I’m not cut out for this. If you weren’t nagging me every morning, I wouldn’t have even bothered getting up for training. I’m better off going back to the lower quarter, doing whatever I can to help out there. All this stuffy training? Knowing what to say and when to say it? That suits you much better than it suits me.”

Flynn shakes his head, mute with--anger? Hurt? He wasn’t sure which one he was feeling but all he knew was that if he stuck around, he really would try tackling Yuri out the window.

“So you’re giving up then? Just because things got hard?”

“Because things aren’t going to change! It’s a waste of time, so--”

“This is _just_ like you, Yuri!”

“What’s like me?”

“This! Giving up! Every time things get rough all you ever want to do is run away!”

“Well, excuse me for being a quitter--not everyone can be like _you_. I bet you’re feeling reeeaally comfy now, now that you have a bunch of noble friends to keep you company. Meanwhile, the rest of us have enough pride to keep ourselves from being a goddamn kiss ass--”

For a brief moment, Flynn sees red. Then Yuri is on the floor and his knuckles are smarting and he wonders for a second if he went too far.

He decides he doesn’t care.

“If that’s what you think, then you can just go. Run away, if that’s all you’re good for.”

He storms out, ignoring Yuri’s protests and Repede’s unhappy whines and scramble to decide which master he should go after.

Flynn makes it halfway down the hall when he realises Repede had followed.

“Repede. No. Stay.” Flynn orders and Repede drops to the floor, his sad little howling drowning out whatever else Yuri had to say.

If Yuri had anything to say.

Not that he cared. His lips tightening into a thin line, Flynn storms towards the training yard.

If he couldn’t punch Cumore himself, or beat sense into Yuri then

Well. A Training dummy would have to do.

 

* * *

A swing at the head. 

An upward slash against the body.

Bring down against the arms.

Step back, guard then run it through.

The dummy trembles but holds. The sword bends, then with a sickening crack--

“Shit!” The sword snaps, and Flynn is too slow to react against the shower of wooden shards that slice along his hand.

Flynn shakes his hand out with a grimace, hissing as blood begins to ooze. In the absence of any desire to use magic or an apple gel, he finds himself fumbling for some clean bandages and water.

He’s not sure what time it is, but judging by the silence that had enveloped the castle, it must have been well past midnight.

Dipping his hand in water cools his anger with it. And without the anger, the guilt begins to creep in again.

Half the reason Yuri went after Cumore to begin with was because of him anyway.

 He should apologise to Yuri. Make things right. If Yuri didn’t want to be a knight anymore--that was--that was okay. Give him some time and space. Yuri would figure things out then. Flynn would just have to change tracks. Find a different way of fighting.

That’s what they were both doing, weren’t they?

He drags himself back up to their room, hesitating for a beat at the doorway before letting himself in and closes the door quietly behind himself.

“Yuri? Listen, I’m--” He begins and then stops. Yuri was already asleep, turned away from the door, sprawled out in a way that Flynn couldn’t join him in bed the way they normally did on particularly cold nights. His sword and rucksack were by the bed, boots clean from the mud and Flynn could tell at a glance anything that was Yuri’s was already gone from the drawers.

Yuri really had meant it all along.

 There was the sound of paws scuffling across the room and then there was a very wet nose bumping against his hand.

“Oh, Repede…” Flynn blinks and then smiles, crouching low to provide Repede the scritches he seemed to be begging for. Repede leans into his touch, his tail thumping slowly against the floor. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Flynn stays like that for a long moment, taking comfort in Repede’s softness beneath his hands and his familiar dog-like scent. It was nice, having something constant.

A constant would be good for Yuri.

He exhales slowly.

Stupid Yuri. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. It wasn’t like they were never going to see each other again.

Just because Flynn felt like he was being abandoned (again. Always again) didn’t mean he was actually being abandoned. Yuri wasn’t going that far.

Knowing Yuri, he’d pop by the castle sooner or later just to bother him. And it wasn’t like Flynn planned on staying away from the lower quarter.

But it was going to be lonely.

“Hey, Repede, think you can do something for me?” Repede’s tail thumps against the floor again, as if in question.

“You’ll look after Yuri for me, wont you? I’ll feel a bit better about everything if you take care of him.”

Another thump.

Flynn smiles. It’s a sad, small thing.

“Good boy.”

Flynn could take care of himself. Yuri and Repede could take care of each other.

It would have to do for now.

 

* * *

 

It’s harder in the morning, standing at the castle gates, with the sun only just peeking over the horizon.

It seemed a little too final somehow and Flynn still hadn’t managed to apologise for yesterday. He opens his mouth to do so when Yuri abruptly cuts him off.

“Stop making that face, Flynn. I’m going to think that little hero save you did the other day _did_ scramble something in your brain and I’ll have to break Cumore’s nose again.”

That startles a laugh out of Flynn, and he shoots Yuri a rueful look.

“Oh, shut up. I was just wondering which poor person was going to have to clean up after you now. Miss Aimee is going to throw you out if you leave mud all over her inn, you know.”

“Hey! I only did that for you. Since you love cleaning so much and all, I figured a bit of mud would get you really excited. What was that you kept saying again, the other day? Something about being the vanquisher of mold and mud?”

“ _I knew it_. I knew you did that on purpose. Yuri, get back here. You don’t get to leave without me kicking your ass first.”

And just like that, the heavy tension between them breaks and they horse around like they did when they were eleven, shouting and hollering until they’re too tired to stand. Flynn tries to catch his breath and he sits up, Yuri following him.

 "...are you sure about this? You can take back that letter you know. The commandant won't hold it against you.”

Yuri grimaces and looks away.

“Nah. You know he will. There’s no place in the knights for fickle people like me, anyway. Anyway. You sure about leaving Repede with me? You could use someone to keep those nobles off your back. They already have their eyes on you and that temper of yours.”

“Speak for yourself. I’ll be fine. I know how to handle them. It’s you I’m worried about. Repede will make sure you don’t get into too much trouble. Isn’t that right, Repede? You’ll tell me if Yuri’s up to no good, won’t you?”

Repede barks, happy to hear his name and his tail thumps against the ground a little harder. Yuri shrugs, dusting himself off as he gets up and Flynn scrambles to follow.

 “Suit yourself. Well. It’s not like I’m going far. You can come by whenever.” Flynn watches as Yuri shoulders his rucksack over his back and his gaze falls on the golden bangle still wrapped around his wrist.

“Was the Commandant okay with you keeping that?”

“Hmm? This old thing?” Yuri taps the blastia lightly and grins. “Thought I deserved a nice souvenir of my time here. They’ll never miss a thing.”

Flynn scoffs and looks away. If he smiled, that would just encourage Yuri.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Hurry up and get out of here, you criminal. Before I chase you down in the name of the law.”

“Oooh, scary--ow, ow, ow. Okay. Fine. I’m going. Geez, last night you kept trying to make me stay. Now you’re trying to get rid of me as fast as you can. Thanks. I see how much I’m wanted now.”

Flynn ignores all of that in favor of studying Yuri closely.

For all Yuri claimed this was what he wanted--he sure didn’t look very happy. Flynn frowns.

“Yeah, well, it’s not like I can stop you when you have your mind made up on something.”

 “You know it. I’ll say hi to Hanks and the others for you before your visit next weekend, yeah? I might not be around though. Tom said he needed a few more bodies to fix that apartment that’s been going up, so I’ll be helping out there for awhile.”

There wasn’t anything wrong with work as a laborer. But there was something unsettling about the thought of Yuri, who was always restless, content with the mundanity of a laborer’s life.

“And are you okay with that?” Flynn asks, concerned.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be? A job’s a job. And it still beats being a knight.” Yuri shrugs, smiling in a way that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I’ll see you later Flynn. Don’t go flying off the handle without me.”

With a careless wave over his shoulder, Yuri walks away. Flynn watches, unmoving until Yuri and Repede disappear in the distance, swallowed by the tall white buildings of the middle quarter.

“So, it’s just me now, huh?” He keeps his gaze focused on the point of a distant tower and exhales slowly, pushing away the sharp sense of loss that gnawed away at his heart.

Their dream had always been a little too big for the both of them.

But he could carry it until Yuri came back.

Yuri was wrong.

Waiting would be worth it.

They had always been strongest together after all.


End file.
